Voluntary childlessness

Voluntary childlessness or childfreeness^[1][2] describes the active choice not to have children. Use of the word "childfree" was first recorded in 1901^[3] and entered common usage among feminists during the 1970s.^[4] The suffix -free refers to the freedom and personal choice of those to pick this lifestyle. The meaning of the term childfree extends to encompass the children of others (in addition to one's own children), and this distinguishes it further from the more usual term childless, which is traditionally used to express the idea of having no children, whether by choice or by circumstance.^[5] In the research literature, the term child-free or childfree has also been used to refer to parents currently not living with their children, for example because they have already grown up and moved out.^[6] In common usage, childfree might be used in the context of venues or activities wherein (young) children are excluded even if the people involved may be parents, such as a childfree flight^[7] or a childfree restaurant.^[8]

In most societies and for most of human history, choosing not to have children was both difficult and socially undesirable, except for celibate individuals. The availability of reliable birth control (which has severed the link between sexuality and reproduction),^[9] more opportunities for financial security (especially for women),^[10] better healthcare (which has extended human life expectancy), and the ability to rely on one's own savings^[11] have made childlessness a viable option, even if this choice might still be frowned upon by society at large. Nevertheless, in some modern societies,^[12] being childfree has become not just more tolerated but also more common.^[13][14] In fact, various attempts by governments around the world to incentivize couples to have a child or to have more children have all failed, indicating that this is not a matter of economics but a cultural shift.^[10][15] In societies where children are seldom born out of wedlock, childfree individuals are likely to remain single as well.^[16][17]